Motor-driven aeroplane.



A. E. MUELLER. MOTOR DRIVEN AEEOPLANE. APPLIOATION FILED MAB. 2'1, 1901.

Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

. A. E. MUELLER. MOTOR DRIVEN ABROPLANB.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 1907.

Patented 0012.19, 1909.

6 SHEETS-$32121 2.

ALE. MUELLER. MOTOR DRIVEN AEROPLANE. APPLIOATION FILED MAB..27,190'I.

Patented Oct. 19,1909.

6 8HBBT8--SHEET 3.

ll ses: SAD/$41M. 31

A. E. MUELLER.

MOTOR DRIVEN AEROPLANE. I

APPLIUATION II'LED MAR.27,1907.

937,381. Patented Oct. 19,1909.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

M6865, S117. Ali/wow A. B. MUELLER.

I MOTOR DRIVEN AEROPLANB. APPLICATION TILED MAR.27,1907.

937,381 Patented Oct. 19, 1909.

8 SHEETBSHEET 5.

A. B. MUELLER.

MOTOR DRIVEN AEROPLANE.

APPLICATION FILED LIA/EH27, 1907.

' Patented Oct; 19,1909.

6 BHBETE-SHBBT 6.

111/1111. w VIIIII AUGUST E. MUELLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

MOTOR-DRIVEN AEROPLANE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Get. 19, 1999..

Application filed March 27, 1907. Serial No. 364,900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, .itt'ot's'r E. MUELLER, a citizen of Argentina, anda resident of: Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, hae invented certain new and useful Improvements in Motor-Driven Aeroplanes; and I do hereby declare that the fol lowing is a full, clear,and exact description thereof, 1t%ft-.l'(%]l( l)lllg had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference markedthereon, which form a partof this specification. I

This invention relates to improvements in motor-driven aeroplanes andconsists in the matters hereinafter more particularly described andpointed out in the appended claims.

My invention may be better understood by I referring to the accon'i'ianying drawings in Figure 1 is a view in longitudinal elevation. Fig.2 is a lon; ritudinal section on line. 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a topplan view. Fig. l is a horizontal section on the line l.4 of Fig. 2.Fig. is a transverse vertical section on the line 5 5- of Fig. 2. Figs.6 and 7 are detail views showing the arrangement of the ropes forcontrolling the steering apparatus. Fig. 8 is a plan view of thepropeller shafts at the upper part of the main frame. Fig. 9 is a detailplan view of a portion of the subframe of the machine. Fig. 10 is aradial section through one of the driving propellers on the line 10--10of Fig.

'1. Fig. 11 is an enlarged detail elevation of the center portion of oneof. said propellers. l ig. 12 is a side view of one of the cam disksdetached from the machine. section on the line 1313 of Fig. 11. Fig. His a detail side view of the center portion of a driving propeller ofmodified form. Fig. .15 is a. radial section thereof. Fig. 16 is a viewin side elevation of the lower part of a machine of modified form. I aradial section on the line 17'17 of Fig. 5. Fig. 18 is a detail view inelevation of one of the slip joints shown in Fig. As shown in thedrawings, the said aeroplane embraces a flat horizontally arrangedaeroplane member A mounted on the upper part of a main frame carryingthe operative parts of the machine. The aeroplane member. in plan View,is broadest at a placenear its forward end, and from its broadest partit tapers to a point at the forward end and to a narrow tail portion Aat the rear end.

Fig. 13 is a- Fig. 17 is From the widest part to a place near the rearend, the side marginsof said aeroplane member are extended verticallydownward to constitute vertical plane members A as shown in Fig. forminga space in which air is slightly compressed in the forward movement ofthe machine. Said aeroplane member may be made of cloth or other lightfabric stretched over a frame consisting of marginal members a a. andcross-members a a, or it may be made of light sheet metal. The mainframe, which maybe made of bamboo, orrat'an, or other light wood, or ofmetal tubes, comprises uj'n'ight members 2, 8, 4, 4 and 5. 5. best shownin Figs. 1 and 4-, joined at their lower ends to horizontal inem hers 5.5, which latter constitute the top part of a sub-frame, indicated as awhole by (2. The rear part of the aeroplane member is fastened to twodiagonal frame members or braccs'fi, G, joined at their lower ends tothef'rame mei'i'ibers 5, Said suhframe 0 is similar in form to anordinary tricycle frame and is provided with two driving wheels I) and asteering wheel 7). the former driven by means of a chain 6 from acrank-- shaft 9 described below, and the latter mounted in a steeringfork of conniion form.

By this means the machine may be propelled )in the rotation of thedriving wheels Z h to when the other propelling devices, describedbelow. are in operation, be'n'ig intended that during thenntchincsflight the whee 17) shall continue t'o rotate and servv as ll wheelsto'steady the motion of the operative 5 parts.

7, 7 indicate steering rods connected to the ends of a. cross-bar on theupper end of the.

-steering fork, leading to points within the operators reach andprovided at their rear ends wlth handles.

On the frame 6* is mounted a saddle '7" for of cranks and pedals bymeans of which the operator may with his feet.

The propelling mechanism embraces four laterally facing propellers 10,10. located two assist the engine by pedaling at each side of theaeroplane member A, and arrangedin front and rear pairs, a transverselyarranged propeller 11 at the forward end of the aeroplane member and atra versely arranged, obliquely and downwardly facing propeller 12located at the rear of the sub-frame 6 The propeller 12 is mounted on abracket 12 fixed to the rear art of the sub-fit1r1e.6 (Figs. 1 and 2).

.sieansfor driving said propelled wheels are Lrranged as follows: 13indicates a beveled driving gear non-rotatively connected to the maindriving shaft 9 and meshing with a beveled pinion 14 on the lower end ofa vertical rotative shaft 1.5. By means of a pair of beveled gears 16and 17 (Fig. 8) the 21 fixed to the shaft 18, by means of which the twoshafts 19 are rotatedin the same direction. The two bevel gears 20, 20are non-rotative on, but slide endwise of, the shafts'19, 1, so thateither or both of the gears 20, 20 can be shifted out of mesh with thedouble faced pinion 21. By this means the rotation of one of thepropellers can be stopped while the other continues to rotate in orderto facilitate turning the machine in a horizontal plane. The means forshifting the gears into and out of mesh with the double faced pinionconsists of two bellcrank levers 22, 22 each connected at one end withone of the gears and at its other end with a reciprocating shifting bar23. A

similar connection is provided between the shaft 18 and the transverseshafts 19 of the rear pair of propellers. 25 designates a beveled gearnon-rotatively fixed to the hub of the propeller 12. Said beveled gearmeshes with a beveled driving pinion 26 fixed to or made integral with apulley 27, driven by means of a belt from a pulley 23 mounted on thevertical shaft 15. Said belt runs over I guide pulleys 24 carried by theframe mem- 55"" her 5. The pulley 28 is adapted to slide longitudinallyon its shaft 15 and is provided on its lower end face with notches orrecesses forming one-half of a jaw clutch and adapted to engage withsimilar notches formed on the upper end face of a collar 128 fixed tothe shaft 15. Said pulley is shifted on the shaft 15 to engage anddisengage the clutch by means of ashifting fork 129. By this means therotation of the rear propeller 12 can he stopped, when its aid is notneeded, without stopping the rotation of the shaft-15.

In addition to the lifting action of the air on the aeroplane memberA,the machine is designed to be raised by means of a pair of movable wings29 and 30 arranged longitudinally immediately below the aeroplane memberA. Each of said wings 29 and 30, here indicated in outline only,consistsof a longitudinal rock-shaft 31 and 32, res 36C- tively, towhich are fixed radially extending movable lifting planes 33 and 34, 35and 36. The shafts 31 and 32 are provided with cranks 37, 38 connectedby links 39 to the upper ends of connecting rods 40 and 41 which receivevertical reciprocatory motion from the cranks at the ends of thecrankshaft 9, as best shown in Fig. 5. The parts are so arranged thatthe inner or adjacent planes 34 and 35 rise and fall together andalternately with the rise and fall of the outer planes 33 and 36. Thestructure of the planes 33, 34, 35 and 36 is such that resistance isopposed to their downward sweep through the air and the reaction of theair on the under surfaces tends to raise the machine, but on the upwardsweep the air passes through them from the upper to the lower surface,thus affording no resistance to their upward sweep. For this purpose thesaid planes may be made by affixing to the rock-shafts 31 and 32 asuflicient number of wings from large birds to constitute the total areaof lifting surface found necessary. Thus the desired results areobtained, inasmuch as the feathers in a. birds wings are so arrangedthat they oppose the passage of air through the-wings in one directionbut allow the air to pass freely thercthrough in the other direction.The connecting rods 40 and 41 are each made of upper and lower members142 and 143 connected by a joint 144 so arranged that said upper andlower members may be disconnected from each other in order to stop themotion of the wings 29 and 30 when the machine has risen to such heightthat their aid is no longer required. The upper member 142 of each ofsaid rods 40 and 41 is tubular and the lower member 143 telescopes intothe lower end of said tubular member.

145 indicates a longitudinal slot in the tubular member and 146indicates a pin projecting radially from the member 143 and adapted toslide in the slot.

147 indicates a sleeve rotatively mounted between collars 148 on thetubular member and provided with a slot 149. Said sleeve is-alsoprovided with a circumferential notch 150 opening laterally into theslot 149 at;

a point midway of its length. When the sleeve is adjusted to bring itsslot 149 in line with the slot of the tubular member the lower memberslides freely in the upper tubular member and the pin slides in theslots without communicating motion to the tubular member. By adjustingthe sleeve angularly on the tubular member, the in may be engaged withthe notch thereby transmitting 'reciprocatory motion to the uppertubular member 142. The outer surface of the sleeve is made in the formof a hand grip adapted to be easily grasped by the hand of the operatorso that by alternately pushing and pulling on the rods 40 and 41 he canassist the action of the engine.

The means for steering and controlling the machine embrace a verticalrudder 43. a horizontal rudder 44 and a brake 45. The vertical rudder 43is located somewhat below the aeroplane member A and is hinged at itsvforward end to a vertical rod or rudder shaft 46 extending upwardly fromthe rear propeller bracket 12 to one of the crossmembers a of theaeroplane member supporting frame. Said rudder 43 is provided shapedlike a fishs tail and its forward edge is hinged to a horizontal ruddershaft 44" (Fig. 1) at the rear margin of the aeroplane member A. Therudder 44 is operated by means of a pair of drums 50, 50 fixed to itshub and ropes 51', 01 leading over pulleys 52 at the upper ends of thevertical members 5 of the main frame. to a drum 54. The shaft 54 towhich said drum 54 is fixed is rotated to operate said horizontal rudderby means of a worm gear device 54 operated by a hand-wheel 54 (Figs. 1.2 and 7).

The brake consists of a flat plane of considerable'areacarried normallyhorizon-- tal above the aeroplane member A. It is designed to be raisedinto a vertical position, in order to present its surface to theresistance of the air and thus oppose the forward movement of themachine. For this purpose the said brake is hinged at .its forwardmargin to a cross-bar mounted upon the upper surface of the-aeroplanemember A and is provided at its rear margin with a rope so lead ng overa pulley 56 near the forward end of the machine and thence ,to a

point within the operators reach. By pulling on the rope 56 the brakemay be raised into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 thuspresenting its surface to the air in a manner to retard the. movement ofthe machine. as above described. 57 indicates another rope also attachedto the rear margin of the brake plane but leading toward the rear of themachine by means of which the brake may be drawn back into itsinoperative position.

As a further means of controllin ,the direction of flight of themachine; f 9/'.:,shaft carrying the propeller 12 may beadjustedangularly about an axis transverseto the axis of rotation of thepropeller thus causing the propeller 12 to exert a side thrust upon therear end of the machine. For this purpose, the shaft on which thepropeller is mounted is carried by or formed on a rotative collar 58mounted on an upright, rearwardly inclined spindle 59 at the upper endof the bracket 12*, and on which the gear 26, constituting part of thepropeller power transmitting mechanism, ismounted (Figs. 1 and 2).

The rotative collar 58 is provided with a drum 61 and with ropes (it),60 leading to drums 62 by means of which the rotative bracket 58 can beadjusted angularly about its spindle. As a further means of changing theangle of inclination of flight with respect to the horizontal theforward art of the aeroplane member A is designed to be tilted upwardlyor downwardly. For this purpose the side members a of the. frame of theaeroplane member are jointed, as shown at a, so as to permit the forwardends of the frame to swing upwardly and downwardly, and the shaft 18carried thereby is provided in alinement therewith with a universaljoint on. The upper end of the frame member 2 is pivotally connectedwith the aeroplane member and is pivotally connected at its lower end.to the closed end of aslide frame at slidably mounted in the subframe 6(Ifiig. 9). The said slide frame is adjusted endwise by means of ascrew-shaft 65 rotatii'ely mounted in cross-members (3(3 of thesub-frame which extends through and has screw-threaded engagement with alug 67 extending laterally from the slide fran'le. The screw-shaft isprovided with a crankhandle by which it is rotated to adjust said slideframe.

Referring to the construction of one of the propellers 10. all ofwhichare'aiihe. 71') indicates a hub fixed to the end of one of the shafts1S) and provided with radial arms '71 on which are rotatively mountedthe propeller blades 72. The blades 72 are designed to be rotatedthrough an angle of on their said arms 71 in order to present their flatsurface forward during approximately one-half of the revolution of thepropeller and exert their full force to drive the machine forwardandupward; but pre sent their edges forward during the re naining partof the revolution. As best shown in Figs. 10. 11. 12 and 13, each bladeis non-rotatively fixed to a sleeve or bladearm 73 rotatively mounted onone of the arms 71. 74 indicates a short. lug project.- mg radially fromthe sleeve 73 and provided 'at its outer end with a roller 74 engagingmembers a of the aeroplane member and constitutes a bearing for theouter end of the shaft 19 as well as a support for the cam disk 75. Thecam disk 7 5 is located closely adjacent to the hub 70 and in a planenormal to the shaft 10. The lug 74 is pressed into cngagemci'it with theface of the disk 75 by means of a volute spring 77 surrounding the bladearm and tending to rotate the'blade 72 about its axis. The disk 7 5 isprovided with a circumferential slot 78, of a length approximately 180",located in the path described on its face by the lug 74. lV hen the lug74 in its travel over the face of the disk 75 reaches one end of theslot 78, said lug is swung into the slot, and the blade arm rotated tochange the angle of the blade, through the action of the spring 77. Whenthe lug 74 reaches the opposite end of the slot it is swung out of theslot against the action of the spring 77 into position to travel uponthe-face of the disk 75, thus restoring the blade to its first position.To facilitate this operation, the latter end of the slot is formed withan end wall 79 beveled from the back of'the disk to its face. and thelug is provided with the antifriction roller 74. \Vhen the blades are inthe position in which the lug 74 engages with the face of the disk, theyare prevented from rotating in one direction by the engagement of saidlugs and'disk and in the other direction by the engagement of said lugswith the inner face of the hub 70. A pin 80 on the radial blade armlimits the extent of rotation of said arm and blade when the lug 74occupies said slot. as shown in Figs. 10,11 and 12. The parts are soarranged that the blades will" be opened and their fiat surfaces turnedforward by engagement'of the lugs 74 with the beveled end wall '79 ofthe cam, and will close and be turned with their edges forward under theinfluence of the springs 77.

As a modification of the propellers with movable blades above described,I have shown in Figs. 14 and 1.5, a propeller in which the blades aredesigned to fold along lines extending radially from the hub 81 thereof.As herein shown, each blade consists of two parts or blade members 82and 88 hinged on the associated radial arm 81 by hinge lugs 85 and 80provided with radial lugs 87 engaging with the adjacent faces of twostationary cam disks 88 and 89 located one laterally outside and theother inside of the hub 81. In this construction, the driv-- ing shafts19 19 are hollow and the outer cam disks 88 are fixed on the outer endsof non-rotative shafts 90 extending into and through the hollow drivingshafts. The

said shafts 90 are non-rotatively fixed at their inner ends in brackets91 depending from the frame of the aeroplane member. The inner cam disks89 are fixed to sleeves 92 surrounding the driving shafts 19" andcarried by the aeroplane member. The hinge lugs 85 and 86 include twosleeves 94 and 95, respectively, engaged by opposite ends of a volutespring 93 tending to rotate the hinge lugs in opposite directions andfold the two parts 82 and S3 of each blade together along their axes 84.The two disks 88 and 89 are provided with circumferential slots, asabove described, designed to allow the lugs 87, 87, respectively, toenter and fold the blades together; and with end walls designed to guidethe said lugs 87, 87, re spectively, onto the faces of the disks andcause the blades to open.

104:, 104 indicate two gas bags located immediately below the aeroplanemember A at the side margins thereof, and connected by means of tubes105 to a gas tank 106 mounted in the frame (3. Said gas tank is tilledwith calcium carbid and is provided with perforations in its lower part,the whole constituting an acetylene gas generating apparatus which willintlate the gas bags with acetylene gas should the gas tank be submergedin water by the falling of the machine into water. The gas bags 104- areof such size that when inflated they will sustain the weight. of themachine in the water.

107 indicates a curved wind-shield made .of glass or other transparent.material and Secured to the forward part of the subframe 6.

In the ordinary operation of my device, a. flight. will be started bypropelling the machine along the ground until sufficient speed has beenattained for it to be raised by the lifting action of the air on theaeroplane member. Under th a action of the propellers 10. 10, 11 and 12the machinewill continue to move forward and will risein a. path inclined at. a small angle to the horizontal. This method of rising is notavailable when. in order to clear obstacles, it is necessary to rise ina path inclined at a large angle to the horizontal. In such cases it isintended to hold the machine captive at the end of a rope and, byoperating the propelling devices. cause it to ascend on an are describedabout the point of attzu-hmcnt to the ground as a center. 110 designatesan anchor by means of which the machine is designed to be so heldcaptive. Said ancho is attached to a rope 111. which is joined at itsupper end to both ends of a rope 112 which runs 'over pulleys 113, 111located respectively at the rear of the sub-frame 0 and at the rearmargin of the aeroplane incn'ibcr it is intended that the operator shallfasten the anchor in the ground and, by operating the pro 'iellcrs andwings, cause the machine to rise on an are described about the point ofattachment to the ground as a center. During the rise of the machine,the change of angularity of the rope 111 with the horizontal will causethe shank of the anchorto be rotated about its point of attachment withthe ground until its blade becomes disengaged from the ground. In saidrise, the rope 112 will shift its position over the pulleys 113 and 114so that the pull will always be in a direction tending to keep themachine horizontal. I I

.In Fig. 16 I. have indicated in outline a form of construction in whichthe frame 6" is replaced by a car designed to accommodate severalpassengersp In a machine of this description, the three traction Wheelsare replaced by four propeller wheels 115, similar to the propellerWheels ]0,'but provided with rims 116 which are adapted to run on theground at the beginning of the machines flight. These propeller wheels115 are provided in addition to the propellers 10, 11 and 12 abovedescribed. The car is designed to serve as a boat when it is desired tooperate the machine on the Water. In such case the propellers 115 wouldbe submerged, and they are as well. adapted to propel the machinethrough water as through air. The motor and operative parts connectingit with the propellers 12 and 115 are concealed in the car.

1 claim as my invention 1. In a motor driven aeroplane, an aeroplanemember provided at its side margins with vertical planes and a swingingWing 10- cated beneath said aeroplanev member between said verticalplanes.

2. In a motor driven aeroplane, an aeroplane member provided at its sidemargins with vertical planes and a swinging Wing located beneath saidaeroplane member between said vertical planes, said aeroplane membertapering toward its rear end.

3. In a motor driven aeroplane, a movable wing including a rock-shaft, acrank and a connecting rod consisting of a lower member and an uppermember, one of said members being tubular at its end to receive theother member, and means for engaging said upper member with said lowermember constructed to lock said members together or to permit saidmen'ibers to slide relatively to each other at their engaging ends forthe purpose set forth.

4. In av motor driven aeroplane, an anchor and an anchmrope, and a ropetrained over pulleys at the upper part and at the lower part,respectively, of said aeroplane, and attached to said anchor rope.

in testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention afl'ix mysignaturoin the presence oi two witnesses, this "14th day of lVlarch A.l). 1907.

AUGUST 111 MUELLER.

Witnesses A. M. BUNN,

T. H, Arirnnns.

